World Cup 2018 Draw: Preview

24 July 20155,954 viewsNo CommentWritten by Michael

Tomorrow see’s the qualifying draw for the 2018 World Cup in St. Petersburg Russia. The Republic of Ireland are in the unenviable position of being in the fourth seeds pot. The fact that Ireland share the pot with the Faroe Islands shows just how far our stock has dropped in recent years. We will now take a look at both the dream draw and the disaster draw.

Disaster Draw

Germany : Yes we held our own and gained a draw in our current qualifying campaign with the Germans, but their qualifying record is simply immense. One best avoided

Italy: Rare to see the Italians not among the top seeds. Along with the French they would represent a very difficult second seed.

Ukraine: A nasty away trip and a very difficult side to beat. Not a team that would strike terror into Irish fans hearts but there are many ‘easier’ sides in the third pot.

Cyprus: One of the Republics darkest days in their history was experience on the Mediterranean Island. Already beaten Bosnia away from home in the current campaign which shows how dangerous they can be.

Georgia: Always a difficult place to collect three points from them. All Irish fans will be supporting Georgia in the near future when they host Scotland, but we would prefer not to have to travel to Tbilisi again.

Dream Draw

Romania: Many would argue Wales would be the nicer draw. Unable to beat Northern Ireland away and struggled past the Faroes in their current campaign. While they are top of their group, they are in no way a side Ireland should fear.

Iceland: Icelands international side has come on leaps and bounds in recent years. Currently top of a difficult group that contains Holland, Czech Republic and Turkey. A side that deserve not to be underestimated, but given the options in pot two, Irish fans would be happy to draw Iceland.

Scotland: Yes they have just taken four points from the Republic, but they showed nothing in either game that should worry Irish fans. Enjoying a revival under Gordan Strachan but their first half performance in Dublin shows their lack of quality.

Moldova: Always make life difficult for their opposition but a very poor side. Lost at home to Liechtenstein in their current campaign.